A 38-year-old man from Reading has been jailed for 16 years after being found guilty of two counts of rape.

Obiechina Okete, of Addington Road, was sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Friday, December 11 after being found guilty by a jury at the same court on Wednesday, October 28.

He was given nine years in prison for the first rape and seven years for the second, to be served consecutively.

A supervised licence period of nine years will follow and Okete will be added to the sex offenders' register.

The sentences relate to the rape of a woman in her 30s in Reading in the early hours of Friday, February 27 and also of a woman in her late teens who was raped by him, also in Reading in the early hours of Wednesday, May 6.

"The verdict will hopefully give them some form of closure and help them to move on."

Investigating officer, Det Con Emma Smith of Force CID based at Reading police station, said: "I would like to praise the bravery of the victims for coming to the police and supporting this investigation.

"Having to relive these horrific incidents during the trial is testament to the courage and bravery which they have demonstrated throughout the investigation.

"The verdict will hopefully give them some form of closure and help them to move on.

"I am pleased with the length of the sentence as I hope it will be a clear signal to perpetrators of sexual crimes such as this where the victims were not in a position to give consent to sexual activity and yet were raped anyway that we will get justice and it will result in a long prison sentence.

"I also hope that this conviction and sentence sends out a strong message to victims of sexual offences, and indeed any crime, that Thames Valley Police will listen and support you. If you need to report a crime then you can contact us at any time by calling 101.

"If you don’t feel comfortable speaking to police then you can always contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or at www.crimestoppers-uk.org."